arrived, the community came together this will be
another home for them come to and be part of Raider
Nation. It is a very different and unique market, which
will bring the Raiders opportunities that really no
other NFL team has.”
Making the right play
While the Raiders and Las Vegas appear to be the
perfect match, it could have been a completely
different story with the team initially looking to build
a stadium in Carson, California, as part of a potential
joint move with the former San Diego Chargers.
“The project actually started in Los Angeles when I
won the competition for the new Chargers stadium in
Carson,” explains Allegiant Stadium architect, David
Manica. “The winning design for the Chargers was
very similar to the San Francisco 49ers Levi’s Stadium,
but the next-generation of that concept. It was like
Levi’s Stadium 2.0. It had all the suites stacked all on
the right-hand side, it was modern, sleek and
asymmetrical. Later they asked me to add all black and
silver seats in some renderings to show them what it
would look like and it didn’t take long for me to realize
that they would be talking to the Raiders about
possibly sharing.”
This did happen, however, with NFL owners
preferring a proposal from the former St Louis Rams
to build a stadium in Inglewood, California, (which is
now SoFi Stadium) the Chargers were offered first
right refusal to be in that building and left the Raiders
once again looking for a new home. Discussions with
the state of Nevada and Clark County eventually saw
the Raiders roll the dice on a solo move to Vegas where
much legacy has carried over from that LA venture to
shape Allegiant Stadium.
“Back when I met Raiders owner Mark Davis he
hated the design I did for the Chargers. We scrapped it
and started over again and worked together to build a
stadium for Los Angeles that he fell in love with. We
created a building that was perfect for those two teams
in LA, but when they went to Vegas he liked what we
had done so we adapted the building for a Raidersonly
home we could strongly brand and adjust design
perfectly for the city and for that site,” explains Manica.
ALLEGIANT STADIUM
ETFE
cable roof
system spans
seven acres,
195ft above
ground
(Main) The 65,000-seater
Allegiant Stadium will put
fans on top of the action,
while also offering many
next-generation premium
and hospitality experiences
Photos: Paul Stocum
www.stadia-magazine.com June 2020 15
/www.stadia-magazine.com